8/17/2016
The Coast Guard Research and Development Center, located in New London, Connecticut, and the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Juniper worked throughout the week to demonstrate and evaluate new technologies to use when responding to oil spills in harsh cold weather environments.
The technologies include a prototype ice cage to keep ice away from an oil skimmer as it collects spilled oil from the water’s surface, a temporary storage device for collected oil that can be mounted on the deck of a vessel, and methods to decontaminate personnel who have been working in an oiled environment.
"The lessons we've demonstrated here and in the other tests clearly illustrate the feasibility of using technology to solve the issues surrounding oil spill cleanup in ice conditions,” said Kurt Hansen, a project manager at the Coast Guard Research and Development Center. “The ice cage, for instance, has been shown to be a valuable tool for keeping ice away from oil skimmers, keeping their brushes clear and working more efficiently.”
6/14/2016
Dirty oil residues from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico remained for years on the seabed, killing wildlife despite large-scale cleanup efforts, a study has revealed.
The study found that in January 2011, nine months after the spill, large patches of oil residue still covered the ocean floor around the spill site. The area had previously been declared clean after the surface of the surrounding waters had been found clean of oil.
The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on 20 April 2010 due to human error, causing around 5 million barrels of oil to spill out — with months going by until the leak was capped near the ocean floor.